


Moments in Love

by airali



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth, Heroes (TV)
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-16 05:26:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4612890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airali/pseuds/airali
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new phenomenon forces Four and his friends to leave Chicago and head to California. New truths about the world and its inhabitants are revealed to them. Secrets like these could ruin the world and once more Four is caught in the middle of it whilst trying to learn how to make a real life for himself again, and how to find happiness in a world without Tris.(slight Heroes tv series crossover)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. genesis

**Author's Note:**

> Quickword to readers!
> 
> Before you start reading i'd like to point out that in this story the time is different. So all of the events of the original Divergent trilogy happened but they actually happened in our time and not in the future. I thought that would be easier for future reference. Also I do not wish to fool any readers so you should know that this is not not a Tobias and Tris story. This is Tobias and another character of my own creation. Tris still dies and this is him trying to find a life after her.
> 
> You should also know that this is kind of a Divergent and Heroes crossover. DON'T WORRY IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THE SERIES! You do not need to know the plot line of Heroes to understand this story. In fact, the only character I'll be using from the series is Mohinder Suresh. Aside from that only the whole aspect of powers is what I take from the series.
> 
> And...I think that's all that's left to say. I appreciate reviews, they let me know if I'm doing something wrong and I can try to fix it so please be honest tell me what you think. Even if all you have to say are profanities bring them on! I love a good laugh.
> 
> Enjoy!

chapter 1

The alarm of my clock rang with a shrill sound through my apartment. I reached to turn off the irritating machine as fast as possible. It was unnecessary, really, I tended to wake before it even went off. With a groan I raised myself off the bed and stretched my arms feeling relaxed as the tension left my muscles. I sat for a moment looking around my belongings.

Roughly four years had passed since everything in Chicago had changed, since factions had been eradicated from our society, since we'd lost some of the closest people to us. It was difficult, assimilating all of the information that lay just beyond the fence that had kept us in for so long, but we've gotten this far. The city of Chicago now lives in moderate peace, even now it is still undergoing changes. People from the outside began to trickle in while some from in here chose to leave, Marcus amongst them. But those that left were few, it was hard enough trying to live in a world without factions, trying to embrace the freedom that their elimination brought; but to move away and leave everything they ever knew behind was daunting to the majority of the population. If I were to be honest with myself I'd admit I was one of those people. I'd once thought I'd be able to do it. To leave Chicago and find a new life with her, somewhere else. But that future had vanished along with her. Now it only felt right to stay here and help rebuild this city, and rebuild myself in the process.

Despite the lack of factions it seemed that there were some things about me that time would never be able to change. My apartment, though its location wasn't near the former abnegation and dauntless sectors, looked as though it could just as easily belong to them. It was a clean space, but impersonal. Scantly furnished, with only furniture of utmost necessity. The lack of decorum made it feel cold; I suppose it could have potential for more. But I hardly spent time in here as it is, it was just a place for me to sleep.

I'd always been a solitary person, since I was but a boy, though I often wondered if that was my nature or if it had merely been a result of my fathers efforts to alienate me from our faction members. But since her death I found solitude wasn't a very safe place anymore. Unwanted thoughts creeped into my mind during those times and made it hard to see that life still had to go on. But I found refuge amongst my friends who I could always count on to remind me that I had to live for the good times, no matter how scarce, or superficial they might be.

I was about to get up from the bed to go about my usual routine when a loud hammering on my door startled me a little.

"Open up four! Don't think we've forgotten!" Zeke's voice thundered through the door. I groaned a little but could not keep from smiling and then I remembered why they were here. I turned 22 today.

Celebrating birthdays was still a strange custom to me and arguably not one that I enjoyed much. Even so I reached for the white t-shirt at the end of my bed and pulled it on as I made to open the door. Zeke, Shauna and Christina awaited there with broad grins on each of their faces. They walked into the apartment without so much as asking, but it didn't bother me.

"Oh don't worry there's still more people coming." Christina assured me though she knew big crowds that focused on celebrating me wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. But if there was one thing I could count on my friends doing, it was annoying me.

"Your mom is on the way along with some other people" Shauna informed, "she also thinks that it will do you some good to get into the habit of celebrating."

"Can't imagine why." I murmured to myself.

Though she never completely recovered from her wound Shauna had been strong and learned how to move around with her automated leg supports. Her paralyzed state would have never been accepted amongst the dauntless; I suppose it was especially good for her that the factions were no longer in place.

I left them to get comfortable in the living room and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. The bathroom was the only room in the house that had a mirror. I suppose old habits do die hard. I wasn't as averse to seeing my reflection as I used to be, but I never paid much attention to it either. But as I stood in the bathroom waiting for the water to warm I stared for longer than I usually did.

I hadn't changed much in the past four years…at least it didn't seem like it to me. Though, of course, the changes are so subtle that they are unnoticeable until one day you see yourself and are suddenly fifty. But if I looked hard enough then I found the changes. My features have matured, the angles of my face are sharper and scruff had begun to form along my jaw, chin and upper lip. One thing I had stopped doing; the abnegation haircut. My hair was longer now, it wasn't straight, but it wasn't completely curly either I knew i'd be getting a slight trim soon. I looked and felt my age

Shaking my head quickly I got into the shower and then proceeded to get ready for the day.

* * *

There weren't as many people as I had been led to believe, but I was glad for them. My friends were all gathered around talking comfortably amongst each other. I looked and only half listened but that was normal. Even now I was still not completely healed from what we experienced, from my loss; but living was bearable now, I didn't fear living anymore.

A soft hand with long slender fingers rested on my shoulder, "Penny for your thoughts?" My mother asked as she leaned in to give me a small kiss on the cheek. This was easier now, having her around, being her son and having a mother. I smiled easily towards her as she took a seat next to me.

"Not much…it's a nice Sunday." I commented, it was already noon and the sun was out and was starting to melt the snow from last night.

"How are you?" she asked seriously. While my relationship with her had improved over time it didn't mean I was comfortable talking to her about deeper things. But it wasn't just her, I was very protective of my thoughts, of my feelings.

But I answered truthfully as I stared out the window, after all I had nothing to hide about that question. "I'm okay, just as always." I smiled in reassurance but I knew it didn't reach my eyes because I knew why she was asking. I knew they were all still cautious about my emotional state because there were days in which everything was especially hard; days in which I could not remember to live for the good moments, days in which there were no good moments and the loneliness was crippling.

"You know I think a change of environment would be good for you. It helped me a lot and there is so much to see out there, so much to experience, so many people to meet."

I pursed my lips and let her interpret that. I had no interest in the world outside of this city. To leave meant to leave my friends, and I don't think I could bear that. It had nothing to do with her memory, leaving the city where so much happened between each other would not take away her memory, that was impossible it would follow me wherever I went; and it's not like I wanted to forget her even if I could. I had that chance once but I wouldn't try to make that mistake again.

"We could go together." She continued.

"I can't leave my job." This was somewhat true, I'd advanced a lot in the past four years but I could leave it just as easily. "I don't think it's a good idea." I finally confessed.

"Just mull over it." Her voice was gentle and soothing. It was the voice of a mother, and I was glad to have one again.

"Hey look!" Our attention was drawn towards Christina who was looking out the window. "An eclipse!"

I'd heard of eclipses, though I'd never seen one for myself. Everyone in the house made their way out excitedly to witness this phenomenon, Evelyn and I followed suit.

We all try to gaze at the sky as the moon moves between the sun and the earth but the sun is still too bright.

"We're lucky." I turn and see Richard my neighbor as he looks up at the sky through dark sunglasses. He's an older man about fifty or so but I enjoy talking to him he is a history expert and i've learned so much about the world thanks to him.

"Why is that?" I asked trying to catch another glimpse of the moons movements. Richard holds out a spare pair of sunglasses and hands them to me. I put them on and find that I can see the sky comfortably now.

"Seems like we'll be able to experience a total eclipse."

I look questioningly at him and he explains. "They don't happen often but when they do the moon covers the entire disk of the sun. Its shadow might just get cast upon us.

"You mean only we will see the eclipse?" I ask.

"No, it can be seen everywhere else but the shadow of the moon only falls on a minuscule part of the earth.

I look back up and see that the moon is now covering half of the sun and I feel breathless as I am once again reminded of how inferior my presence is compared to the universe. I think of  _her_  now. She would have loved to see this.

My throat suddenly feels tight and I feel I might choke if I keep looking up. Turning my face down I removed the sunglasses and offer them to Evelyn so she can take a look. I look around at my friends as they all look up in awe at the sky.

I like to believe that Tris can see this phenomenon from somewhere else. But i'm not entirely sure I believe in any kind of existence after this life.

A sudden darkness pulls me from my musings and I look up to see the moon perfectly positioned before the sun, all that is visible is a ring around the dark circle that is the moon, and it's beautiful.

"Happy birthday." Richard says to me.

I hear the cheers from my friends as they all look at what is happening and their happiness is contagious, I walk towards them and laugh a little as Christina reaches to put an arm over my shoulder. These are the moments I live for…

* * *

1 month later

Its Sunday eight in the morning and I'm about to head out for a run when I hear a rushed knock on the door. Though I haven't had the need to fight in four years my mind is still alert and I notice the urgency in the pounding of the door. I hurry to open the door, thinking that someone might be in trouble and Zeke pushes his way in and looks around wildly. His hair is in a wild state of disarray; he ran all the way from his home I assume.

"Zeke?" I ask worriedly and hurry over to steady him. "What is it? Is it Shauna? Is she alright?"

He nods and takes deep breaths. "Yeah, I mean she has to be or else she wouldn't be able to-" he stops right there and looks as though he is thinking

"What?" I ask impatiently now. "She wouldn't be able to what?"

"She is running." Zeke now whispers and looks at me as though he is deranged.

I stare a moment trying to make sense of what he is trying to tell me but it doesn't make sense. "What?"

"You need to come with me." He didn't wait for me to respond he pulled me around and started to run. I follow without thinking. "We woke up this morning," he explained through breaths. "but when she sat up she didn't get into the chair,  _she stood up and ran_."

"What!" I stopped as I realized the impossibility, but Zeke continued to run without bothering to look if I was still following. I ran again easily falling into step with him. I didn't ask for any more explanations, it was something I'd just have to see when she we arrived at his house.

"Shauna?" he called as we entered. Their apartment, though lacking in decorum, felt more lived in than my own. There were many more personal possessions. "Where are you?"

"In here!" she called from the bedroom. I was breathing hard trying to catch my breath but I heard how she called out nervously. We rushed into the room and turned to look at her. I immediately turned away when I saw her, I felt my face flush with embarrassment, she was sitting on the bed in nothing else but her underclothes.

"Honestly Four?" Shauna called exasperated, "It's as though you've never seen a woman half naked."

Some part of me was relieved by her reaction. It meant that she wasn't in trouble.

"Would you care to explain why Zeke stormed into my house mumbling incoherencies about you  _running_." I was still turned away from her, while I had previously seen half clothed people I was still not comfortable with looking at my best friends wife half clothed.

"Turn around and you'll see."

And I did, and there was a moment of complete silence in the room. Underwear aside, Shauna stood beside the bed. It was as though she'd never even been paralyzed.

"You can walk?" I heard the astonishment within my voice.

"Well,…" she looked to Zeke uncertainly but all he could do was stand there grinning like an idiot.

"Well?" I pushed.

"I should be able to right? But when I do." She took a step forward and then she was gone. Zeke and I looked around but she had disappeared from the room.

"Over here!" She called from the living room.

She stood on the other side of the room, the fireplace. "But how? You just disappeared." I racked my head trying to make sense of the impossibility of what was happening.

"I didn't disappear, I  _ran."_ Beneath the elation she was feeling I could see the worry. "I just wanted to take a step, but its like I can't control it. I only stopped because the wall is here."

I looked between the two of them, "You just woke up and this happened? You haven't been feeling any different?"

"No…I mean I'd been feeling some pain which is odd considering that I'm paralyzed. I was going to get it checked out but…"

"When did you start feeling that way?" I could ask all the questions I wanted but that didn't mean I was any close to understanding what was happening.

"Uhm a little less than a month." She admitted.

I looked to Zeke but he was now frowning, deep in thought. Trying to figure out, iIm sure, what was going on.

"Okay…" I finally said while I thought hard. "Zeke go get Shauna's chair and help her get dressed. Shauna you should keep from trying to walk, or run, until we have some idea about what's happening. I'm going call Matthew." I reached for their house phone.

"Not a doctor?"

I shook my head quickly. "This isn't normal, what doctor would know what to make of this? No, we need Matthew, he's trustworthy and he must have some sort of idea," I quickly dialed his number and explained to him that he was needed.

There was a look of wonder in Matthews face as he witnessed what Shauna could do. I recognized that look in his face, I'd seen it before on the Erudite. The desire for knowledge, though it wasn't unsettling on him.

"This is…" he shook his head as if trying to clear it while Zeke helped Shauna back into her chair. "I've heard things of course…but I didn't think it possible."

"You know what this is or not?" Shauna snapped.

"I think…but I can't be sure…" he sat down on the couch and continued to stare at Shauna's legs with amazement.

"Matthew?" My tone was harder than I meant for it to be. "Care to give us some insight into what is going on in your head?"

"Right, I'm sorry. Listen I can't speak with certainty but I've heard things from people, really they're more like legends because there hasn't been anything to back up the claims, at least nothing that scientists know about because if they did then I'm sure-"

"GET ON WITH IT!" Shauna bellowed making Zeke flinch a little.

"Sorry." Mathew turned a little pink. "There are stories about people with certain…gifts, if you will, some sort of genetical enhancement I believe that gives them abnormal abilities. Now I can't be sure about how true this is because like I said there's nothing to back it up. Really they could be mere stories."

"Then how do you explain what just happened?" Zeke cut in.

"I don't know." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and bit his lip thoughtfully. "I'll do some research and try to get back to you as soon as possible. Do you think I might be able to take some blood samples?"

I observed as he set out to work but my mind was elsewhere. It was wondering about the possibilities that the stories might be true. If so what the hell was that supposed to mean? How could it even be possible?

And then another thought rose in my mind. I thought of the factions and the danger that Divergence posed to the Erudite. An image of dead Abnegation members on the street resurfaced and my throat felt tighter.

If there was one thing I learned it was that difference was danger to people in power. To be different was to be persecuted for it. If these stories were true then there was a reason why no one knew if they were real or not; it was because it'd be dangerous to uncover something like that.

Mankind was dangerous when it felt threatened and very little could stop it.

"You should try to learn to control it." Matthew said. "I'm sure that with some effort you could slow down enough to walk."

"I'd hate to try it in open space though." She grumbled. "I feel like I might never stop."

"No Shauna, listen to me." I hurried to her side and kneeled before her. "No one can see this. They have to go on thinking you can't walk."

She nodded, no one questioned it. They all understood that as wonderful as it was that she had regained movement of her legs it was also very dangerous to have others find out.

"Should we tell Christina?"

I shook my head, I trusted Christina, she was (next to Zeke) one of my best friends. But the less people knew the better.

"Not until we have some more answers."

"Done!" Mathew called and began to pick up his things. "Now a warning, this might take a long time. I suspect there will be very little research on anything of this nature, if anything at all.

I stayed a little longer after Matthew left and discussed what was happening with Zeke.

"Do you think someone might try to hurt her?" He finally asked when there had been too much silence between us. I watched him preparing lunch, the morning had passed by in a blur.

"I wouldn't let my guard down."

"Once a Dauntless always a Dauntless." He grinned.

I smiled tightly, "Well we have to learn from the past don't we?"

I joined them for lunch and as I watched their usual playful exchanges I noticed a newfound hope in their expressions, in their voices. In all the confusion of what was happening I'd forgotten to feel properly happy that she was all well again. It was a gift anyone in her position would yearn for. That's what Matthew had called it; a gift, and that's exactly what it looked like to me, a wonderful gift. Almost like a dream.

* * *

Three months later

Matthew was right, information on the subject is scarce and though he made interesting discoveries about Shauna's blood he has no definitive answers. But yet another abnormality surged in the times that had followed.

A little over a month later Christina became sick. It continued for a few days until one day I received a frantic call from her in the middle of the night asking me to hurry to her apartment. She hadn't called her mother as she didn't want to frighten her.

I was not ready for what I was about to see. Five replicas of Christina calmly walked around the house. Only one looked particularly sick by the sight.

I stumbled out of the house, away from what I'd just seen and I had to take a couple of breaths before going in to make sure that I wasn't going crazy. Christina seemed just as scared as I but once we verified that what we were seeing was indeed real I sat and told her what had happened with Shauna.

Her replicas had all lounged around the house without really paying attention to us, I wondered if they had any level of awareness. Matthew went through the same process of extracting some blood samples but he looked just as I felt; worried.

He stayed with us until Christina fell asleep at which point all the other five copies of her dissolved into thin air.

"I'm going to stay with her until she feels better." I assured him. "I don't know what those things are but I'm not sure they're entirely harmless."

"Good thinking. Listen I wanted to tell you something but I didn't think I ought say it in front of her, she seemed distressed enough."

"She's stronger than you might think." I was quick to defend.

"All right yeah but what I wanted to say was that I came into contact with someone that seems to have information about what could be happening to Shauna and Christina. I've talked to him but so far it's all been theoretical discussions, but he seems to know about this. I didn't think it wise to tell him about Shauna, i'm not sure if this person is trustworthy. I was going to talk to Zeke and Shauna tomorrow about it. What do you think?"

I pondered over the information for a moment. The fact that Christina had come down with this ability made me wonder if there were other people going through the same thing. But how could we know who to trust?

"What do you know of this person?"

"His name is Mohinder Suresh, his father used to do research on human evolution and it seems that he is now moving into that field as well. He strongly believes that humans are evolving and coming to acquire certain traits that give them astonishing abilities. A lot like what is happening to Shauna and Christina."

"Does he have any proof?"

"I don't know."

"Find out won't you?"

* * *

Now a month later and we were all gathered around my living room. Christina, unable to control what was happening to her was forced to quit her job and stay indoors. Shauna's luck was no better.

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" Christina groaned.

"Oh go away won't you!" another Christina, and the real one I presume, snapped at her clone. I snickered a little, it was a rather humorous scene. I wasn't the only one who seemed to think that way because the others laughed too.

"It's not as bad as I thought it'd be you know?" Zeke joked, "Having multiple Christina's. I thought it would be a nightmare."

"It is a nightmare." Christina grumbled as she eyed her clone warily and sent us all into another wave of laughter. But our laughs came to a sudden halt when we heard the knock on the door. He was here.

Matthew jumped to his feet and went to open the door before I could even get up. Out of all of us I think he was the most eager to meet Dr. Suresh. The rest of us seemed rather apprehensive.

"Hello, I'm Mohinder Suresh, you must be Matthew"

I couldn't see the man but there was a pronounced accent to his voice that I'd never heard before.

"Yes, it's so nice to finally meet you." Matthew said sounding rather excited. "Come in please."

Once Matthew was out of the way we all got a better look at the man. I expected someone old, at least as old as my neighbor, but Dr. Suresh looked to be in his early thirties. He was a thin average height man with dark brown skin and slightly long curly black hair. His black eyes were warm with a smile as he appraised all of us.

"Hello," he greeted us again in his strange accent. We all returned the greeting somewhat warily.

"Oh uhm, this is Cecile, she'll be assisting me today."

At the mention of someone else I finally caught sight of a girl that stood beside Dr. Suresh. I call her girl but in reality she seemed to be nearly as old as I. She was thin, not tall but not too short either and she was pale. Her blond hair seemed nearly as pale as her skin and her eyes were ice blue against the paleness of her skin. She smiled politely at all of us and I saw that she was attractive at least by conventional standards. Her eyes turned to me and I realized that I'd been staring for just a little too long. I looked towards Dr. Suresh but noticed out of the corner of my eyes that she smiled coyly at having caught me staring.

"I understand that it must have been very hard to have decided to contact me." Dr. Suresh finally spoke. "But I assure you that you can trust me. My father has researched this for most of his life and I'm continuing that research." He cast his eyes down for a moment before straightening again. As wary as I was of the situation there was something…trustworthy about Mohinder. Maybe it was calm and patient manner of speaking.

"Before you show me anything I would like to explain to you a bit about who I work for. I work for the Beaumont institution this is a private institution aimed at conducting further research about people like Cecile."

Cecile smiled and waved her hand a little. There was something unsettling about her expression. Her smile didn't quite touch her eyes and even her smile seemed slightly cold; it was as though there was no emotion to her expression.

"You mean she has these-"

"Abilities?" Mohinder finished for Christina. "Yes, in fact her family, the Beaumont's, founded the institution a few decades ago. We focus on conducting research trying to find ways of helping people that are just discovering these abilities as each ability is unique from the others."

"Wait-" I stopped him, unable to keep from asking my own questions. "You mean to tell us that everyone knows about this?"

"No, to the public our institution is just a facility focusing on things such as stem cells and genetically pure and damaged individuals, although those of us that work there have long realized that these are serious misconceptions used to justify human beings actions. However what we really do is work to help people like Cecile control their abilities and find a way to live a quiet life so they may go unnoticed by the world. At the same time we further our knowledge about people like her."

"So this is dangerous?" Shauna asked. "Is that why you hide people?"

Suresh nodded seeming a little apprehensive. "We believe it important to keep this as quiet as possible. The numbers of people like this are small but we expect the numbers to keep growing as the generations go by. However it's been our history to eradicate that which we don't know or understand. Information like this in the wrong hands could be fatal to many innocent people. So we strive to help these people."

"How do you find them?"

"We have a very sophisticated, if not complicated, system of tracking. However i suspect that someone would have been sent to this particular city soon if Matthew had not contacted me."

"Why is that?"

"We noticed a possible correlation between the solar eclipse that took place about four months ago with the sudden surge in numbers of people with abilities. We wondered if the fact that this particular city fell into the shadow of the eclipse had any effect upon it's civilians. It seems that it might have."

"Are there any other people here who are going through this?"

"We're not sure yet. That's partly what we came here to figure out."

I heard the sound of something vibrating and the girl, Cecile, pulled out a sleek looking phone from her pocket.

"Hello?" Her voice was smooth, attractive even, but lacking as much emotion as her expression; she was an odd woman. "Yes we're here. Suresh is speaking with them… alright." she turned the phone to him. "Dad wants to talk to you."

Mohinder excused himself and left the house to answer the call in silence.

"So what exactly can you do?" Zeke asked, glancing at her quizzically.

Cecile stare at him for a moment with her strange blue eyes and then she raised her hands, palms up, to her middle and I felt my eyes become larger as I saw a current of electricity form between her fingers, as though she held lightning in her hands.

She dropped her hands, ending the current and looked around, seeming pleased at having impressed us.

"How do you do that?" Christina asked, but unlike the others rather than looking impressed she was guarded and I understood why. Cecile seemed to be very aware of her power, and I was sure that she could do so much more than a light show. That along with her detached demeanor made me feel like I had to be vigilant around her, I realized who she reminded me of; Jeanine.

"They thought it would be better for you all if you could have proof of what Mohinder was saying. Most usually do." Her eyes turned to me looking at me for longer than was normal but that didn't seem to bother or embarrass her; she was bold and confident and I felt naked in a very uncomfortable way under her gaze. I turned my eyes away and I felt my expression fall into a slight scowl, hoping that might make her look away, but to no avail.

"so you always go with Suresh on these…trips?" Matthew asked.

She looked at Matthew dismissively and answered, "Not all the time, sometimes they take my sister." She looked around my house and her distaste was very clear on her face. A small part of me wondered if her sister was just as unpleasant as she. I wanted to ask but I didn't want her eyes falling to me again, but Shauna asked for me.

"What can she do?"

"Nothing of importance." Cecile answered with a tone of finality. She tried to seem disinterested but there was a sour look on her face at the mention of her sister.

"Okay!" Mohinder entered the house once more and broke the tension that Cecile seemed to bring along with her. "Where were we?"

He was adequately impressed when he witnessed what Shauna and Christina could do, Cecile on the other hand seemed, if anything, bored.

"We want to know how to control it." Shauna said when Suresh and Matthew had begun talking animatedly about genetics and the human brain.

Suresh cleared his throat loudly and brought his attention back to us. "Of course, I would imagine you would. And because as I mentioned earlier it's not wise that too many people know about it I'd like to invite you both to spend some time at our institute in California."

Shauna and Christina looked at each other dubiously.

"You'd help us?" Christina asked.

"Of course! It's a rather large place. It used to be a university and while it still serves half of that purpose we've also used it for other matters. We can provide you with temporary housing for as long as it takes you to get a good grip on your abilities. It always takes different amounts of time and effort for different people. Sometimes as they get to know their ability and get comfortable they find that they can extend their power. In return all that we would like is to study you and your progress during your stay. We have a particular interest in learning if the faction system could have some correlation to the development of your abilities. You two are the first people from the faction system to have developed special abilities."

I wanted to object but I simply pursed my lips, this was, after all, a choice for them to make, not me. Had it been my situation I don't think I would have been too thrilled about being another experiment to a group of people, not again.

"You said you don't believe in this idea of genetically pure and damaged people right?"

"That's not strictly true, though to put those labels to people is rather problematic. We believe that this phenomenon does not explain peoples violent natures. I think you would all agree that humans are too complex to simply be defined in terms of genes."

I nodded absentmindedly, I appreciated his view on the subject.

"However there is a significant difference in genes between what people see as genetically 'pure' and 'damaged' people. In no way am I trying to say that one group is better than the other, but we want to know if this could also come into play when trying to understand where these abilities come from.

"I'm sure there are still so many other questions that you have to ask, That's why I urge you to take into consideration my invitation. You don't have to decide today, Matthew has my number if any of you wish to contact me. I think it would also be a good experience, recently we've had an increase in population on the campus. More people have arrived to learn how to use their abilities in the best and safest manner possible. You might enjoy seeing other gifted people as yourselves." I looked around the room at my friends, they didn't seem so apprehensive any longer. In fact there was evident interest in each of their faces, even I was interested.

"Matthew I took the liberty of researching your background on your previous job at the bureau and I decided to put in a good word for you amongst my superiors. I think they would like to give you a spot in our research team if you have any interest."

I noticed how Matthews eyes lit up at the possibility, he pulled on the green string around his neck just a bit too hard.

"Yeah i'll think about it."

Suresh nodded and smiled cordially at all of us. His smile was very white in contrast to his dark skin.

"Cecile and I must leave now, we have other matters to tend to. It has been a pleasure to meet all of you and I hope to see you two soon." He pointed at Christina and Shauna. A few minutes later and he was gone, leaving us all to discuss the influx of information we'd just been given.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Christina asked two days later. She, Shauna and Matthew had decided to take Mohinder's offers. Zeke would be accompanying Shauna as well. What I thought about that was that it would be very lonely here for a while, but I didn't think it fair to mope about that when they were all so excited.

"I think I might actually have to start spending time with Caleb for the time you will all be away." I tried to joke.

Christina laughed. While I'd fixed my problems with Caleb a long time ago I still did all I could to stay away from him as much as possible. He was a constant reminder of her and her fate.

"You could come with us." She suddenly said. She wasn't looking at me, she was busying herself with the dinner she was cooking. Her family was coming for dinner and she'd invited me and Evelyn.

I laughed a little but there was no humor. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" She immediately demanded.

"Because I can't leave my job." I responded automatically.

She snorted, "Who do you want to fool? You and I know that you could care less about your job."

"I do care about the politics of this city you know, even if it doesn't seem like it. Someone has to help restore this city don't you think?"

"Yeah I know you care, you just don't care enough. Come on Four live a little, I think a change of air would be good for you."

"You know you're the second person to say that."

"Well, your mother is a wise woman; Despite everything."

"I don't think that's the best idea." I reached into the cupboards of her small kitchen and took out the plates. They would soon arrive.

"Tell me, what can you possibly do all alone in this city besides work? What kind of a life is that? You're allowed to live you know." She stopped stirring the pot and turned to look at me, a serious look set on her dark eyes. "She would want you to. If taking some time away was what was best for you then she would have encouraged you to go.

You're not running away from everything except a stifling routine. Remember to live for the good moments, this could be one of them. Besides I'm sure Johanna would be fine with you taking off as much time as you need. You never even take vacations, it's only fair. Oh for heaven's sake!"

She stumbled back into the counter. I was still not used to seeing this, how her body seemed to split and form an identical copy of herself.

"How the hell is this considered a damn gift!" she growled and grabbed a saucepan, raising it in a threatening manner towards her double. "You go into that room and stay in there until I tell you to come out, understood?"

Her double did as it was told and disappeared. I laughed openly at the expression on her face and continued setting the table.

"I might just take you up on that offer if it means I get to experience more of those incidents." She shoved me playfully.

We had a good relationship going on and I knew that being away from her and my closest friends for so much time would be difficult. Maybe that's what made me decide to join them. Maybe a part of me really felt like it was time for a change. Maybe I felt dauntless enough to take a step into a world I knew nothing about, but I was glad I took that chance.


	2. Story of a Girl

Chapter 2

I took one last sweep of my apartment before I turned my back and closed the door. It had all been arranged and the institution members seemed more than happy to have everyone, including me,come along. To say I was excited would be saying too much, but I was very curious about what we would find on arrival. Most of what I'd seen from the outskirts of Chicago was falling apart, much like a ghost town. Would we be met with the same amount of decay in this place, California?

"Hurry it up!" Zeke called and jumped out of the car that was being provided for us to open the trunk. "looking forward to that plane ride huh?"

My stomach lurched painfully at the reminder and I was glad that I hadn't eaten anything.

"Would you shut up for once?" I muttered as I pushed in my bags a bit too forcefully. He snickered at my attempts to hide my panic, like I'd been taught to.

Everyone else was already in the car greeting me excitedly but all my thoughts were on that death trap we'd soon be boarding.

* * *

It was big, too big. How in the world would this piece of metal fly? It was downright impossible.

"It's not so bad," Christina tried to encourage me when she saw my restless fidgeting as I looked at the plane.

"How do you know?"

"We flew in one once…when we first arrived at the bureau." Her voice drifted and I knew we were both remembering her.

"She never told me." I managed to speak through a tight voice after a moment.

"Not surprised. You guys were going through a rough patch at the time."

She called it a rough patch, I called it wasted time. It was time I could have spent by her side, making more memories to keep with me seeing as how it was all I had; I didn't even have a picture…

"Good morning." An attractively smooth but cold voice greeted us and we turned to see Cecile standing there in a navy blazer with tight jeans and knee high boots. It was a style of clothing that I'd seen very little especially since Chicago was still mostly composed of people from the experiment and I can't say we were all too invested in fashion in those times. Even now commercialism hadn't begun to enter the city yet.

She'd addressed us all but I noticed she stared only at me. I stared back with a hard look of my own, unwilling to lead her to think I was intimidated; I wasn't. But I had a feeling that Cecile prided herself in her abilities and thought herself to be above others. I wouldn't be surprised if she was used to intimidating those of lesser power than her, in fact I had a feeling she enjoyed it. I was not about to indulge her.

"I was sent here to come and collect you. We'll be boarding the plane briefly." I felt like throwing up. "It will be a long trip, about a five hour flight. Luckily we managed to get the airport in Arcata to open for us. That'll keep us from having to get down at San Francisco."

I don't know why she was giving us all of these details, she didn't strike me as a very informative person. In fact she seemed like someone who did not like interaction with strangers. Though a small, and maybe conceited, part of me felt that she was doing it to strike some sort of conversation with me. Maybe she wanted to seem more amicable, but that contradicted my theory that she wanted to intimidate me. I don't know, I had some more important things to think about like how that thing planned to stay on the air for five hours.

"You look green, Four." Zeke nudged me with his elbow. Great that's all I needed, for this girl I wasn't particularly fond of to know I was scared of flying. A straight hit to my pride.

But she didn't seem to be paying attention, she was busy looking at the screen of her cellphone.

"If you'll follow me, the plane is ready."

I discreetly wiped my sweaty hands against my jeans and followed after Christina.

* * *

It is hard to appreciate what I am sure was a beautiful sight when you're heaven knows how many feet in the air; and I felt even more sure than ever that man was not meant to fly, yet they sure found a way to cheat that law of gravity. I watch, somewhat resentfully, as everyone else stares out the window in awe. Then I decide that if I close my eyes then I won't feel so sick.

It feels like I hardly blinked when I am being shaken awake by Cecile. I jump on reflex, perplexed by her proximity then I realize she must have sat next to me and I hadn't even noticed.

"We're here." She says pleasantly, and it's the first time I heard any sort of warmth in her voice.

I got up and followed Christina, rather eagerly, out of the plane. The air was cold as we stepped out and the gray sky threatened to rain. The airport was small compared to the one we'd left a couple hours ago. But all around us were fields, only the highway cut across them and few cars ran through it. Past the field I could see a solid wall made of trees They almost surrounded us but when I turned around to see behind me I saw that the forest was interrupted by the sea. It was too far away to get a good look at the bay but it looked a bit mushy.

"Am I the only one that feels that the air is different?" Shauna commented as we all took in the remote beauty of our surroundings. She was right, there was a fresher and cleaner quality to the air here. It felt good to breathe, there was something…freeing about this place.

This was new to us, I'd never seen a forest or the sea. I'd never seen so much open space or so much greenery. Where I grew up all I'd seen was an industrial looking city that was starting to crumble, even amity had not been as green as it was here. It was comforting and equally frightening to know that not the entire world looked the same, but it was almost worthwhile to see it. See what other kinds of beauty this world had to offer.

"What time is it?" Christina asked.

"Should be around one." I checked my watch.

"Actually Chicago's time is ahead of California's by about two hours. So while in Chicago it's one, here it's still eleven AM." Matthew informed us, and I remembered that he was more learned about the world than we were. He'd grown up in it while we'd been isolated. But I'd long gotten over those kind of resentments of my past.

"Follow me." Cecile said. We walked off the plane's runway and I hoped I wouldn't have to get on one again for a while.

"It's May why is it so cold?" Shauna mumbled as she wheeled herself along with us.

"California's weather can be a bit unstable. Especially up here it tends to be colder than in southern California." Cecile spoke without turning to look back at us. "But it should be getting warmer in about an hour or so. Not to mention we're close to the sea so that's always colder."

A big gleaming car was stationed not too far from us and a man dressed in a suit waited against the car, he smiled when we were close by and introduced himself as Jack.

"Big group this time." He commented towards Cecile.

"Yes, well you know how my dad is about letting family members accompany them." Then she turned and looked around us before addressing Christina "you might not want to multiply while in the car. We'll be limited in seating."

"Well, if I had any control over this then I wouldn't be here to begin with would I?" Christina snapped and I observed how Cecile's lips tightened minimally as though trying to keep herself from responding, a small part of me sympathized with Cecile as I remembered my own first experience with Christina on her initiation day. But she nodded and turned away while getting into the passengers seat. The man however smiled at us and introduced himself as Joel, then he opened the back door for us to get in. After Zeke had helped Shauna into the car he slid in and I followed. The leather seat squeaked a little under us and I looked toward the marshy looking bay. Was that what the sea looked like? The fog that settled over it made it hard to see.

The car started and it moved smoothly and silently into the highway. Everyone else began asking questions to our tour guides, but I tuned it out and focused on the scenery beyond the clear window. Soon we slipped into a road where trees covered either side of the highway. The trees were tall and old. What things had these trees been a witness to throughout their lifetimes?

The car ride wasn't very long. Or maybe I'd been so immersed in my surroundings that I'd lost track of time, I wasn't sure. But after a while the car turned onto a narrow road nearly obscured by bushes and trees. The trees on either side were so close that they tangled above the middle of the road casting us into its shadows. Everyone had become quiet now, taking in the eerie silence of the woods.

"I've been trying to contact Etienne but she hasn't answered me," Jack informed Cecile. "She was supposed to meet us and take over from there."

"Could she be any more useless?" She sighed and checked her phone. "I suppose I'll have to take charge as always." But there was a peculiar tone to her voice that made me think she was secretly pleased about this.

We finally stopped before a large intricate wrought iron gate. Beyond that was a complex of whitewashed buildings with brown tiling on their roofs. I couldn't see much from where we were but a moment later the gates opened and the car entered.

"This used to be a private university." Jack informed us. "Then it was turned into more of a research facility although we still offer classes to the people that inhabit the campus."

"This place is beautiful." Christina murmured.

And it really was. The sun had finally emerged and seemed to shine on the campus. I couldn't see it all, it was too big. I could only see the buildings we passed, bushes with all sorts of flowers grew along the buildings. There were so many trees that it seemed as thought they tried to build as much of the campus without cutting off too many trees. We finally came to a stop in front of a grey building. It stood quite apart from all the ones that we'd seen due to it's color. It seemed to be about five stories and the very top floor rather than having walls had floor length windows. Tables and chairs filled the vast room; it seemed like a dining room.

Jack parked the car in the parking lot in front of the building and we all got out the moment the car was turned off.

"Welcome to your new home, for as long as you need to stay." Cecile smiled cordially. "If you'll follow me."

Jack wished us luck and bid us goodbye before we turned to follow Cecile's thin form. It was warmer now thanks to the sun, but there was still a slight chill in the air.

We went up the stairs that led into the building and glass doors opened automatically. Inside the building was a man in an immaculate dark suit, he was on his cellphone and didn't seem to have noticed us entering. The inside of the building seemed like a reception. Above the great built in desk was a sign that read 'Information/help desk'.

"Yes please do. Have him call me back and schedule a meeting for Thursday. Alert the head of the research team." He hung up then and turned to look at us with a broad smile. He had to be her father. He was tall and thin, his hair the same shade as Cecile's, his smile though broad did not quite meet his eyes. He ran a hand trough his neatly combed hair then extended his arm to shake each of our hands.

"It's so very nice to finally meet all of you! I'm Walter Beaumont and welcome to the Beaumont institute. We are thrilled to have you all here! But you two." He pointed to Christina and Shauna. "You two are the reason any of you are here at all! Mohinder reported back to me about your abilities and I must say I was impressed. To regain the ability to walk and heightened. And the ability to be in two places at the same time…" he trailed off as though lost within his thoughts.

I didn't like the way he looked at them. Less like people and more like objects, I didn't trust easily and I knew that it would probably be best to be wary of this man, however good his intentions might be.

"Simply wonderful!" He exclaimed in delight. "I've been so eager to meet all of you. Few of us know about the experimental system you were thrust into but most of us that did know, well we weren't very happy about it." The delight that still marked his voice made it hard to believe in his statement.

"Didn't seem like you were going to do anything about it." I said just a little too forcefully. He whipped his head around to look at me carefully and finally his uncomfortable smile gave way to a frown.

"No I suppose not, unfortunately we don't wield as much power as it might seem. This is an institution after all, not the government"

I suppressed the urge to snort. If there was anything I'd learned from working with politicians it was that corruption ran within the veins of the governing system.

"Now!" He clapped his hands. "are there any questions you have?"

I listened idly as everyone asked their questions and I decided that he was at least someone that we could count on to keep Christina's and Shauna's abilities secret, and that was good enough. Secrecy in this matter was important, I'd seen what people in a small community could do to people different from them, hadn't I myself been hunted for supposedly being Divergent? After a while he began to excuse himself claiming he had a meeting to attend.

"I really hope you enjoy your stay here. I don't often come around the campus as I have many other things to tend to. But if you ever need any help with anything you can stop here at the information desk and the staff will be more than happy to help you. You can also go to my youngest daughter, she knows the place probably better than anyone else and she lives here." He turned to Cecile, "Speaking of which where is your sister?"

Cecile shrugged in a disinterested manner. "You know how unreliable she is, I don't know why you even bother counting on her anymore."

He pursed his lips in disapproval. "Well, I suppose you'll meet her soon enough. For now Cecile will give you a tour of the place."

* * *

It was a big place. We walked along the streets as she pointed out what each building was used for. Christina and Shauna would be appointed a personal instructor so that they could get the most attention possible. Their instructor would work out a schedule with them.

"You guys can all feel free to go into any of the ongoing classes. You'll have computer access and there you can look into the variety of classes we offer."

"How does this place run?" I suddenly wondered out loud. Cecile stopped and turned to look at me with a special smile.

"Pardon?"

"Well, I assume that all of the people staying here don't pay. How does the campus sustain itself when it has no profit?"

"We have a lot donors that help keep this place running all for the sake of the research that is carried out here. And speaking of research. In your rooms you will find a packet with documents. You and your instructors will go over it so that you understand all the rules and guidelines as well as to sign a contract in which you lend yourself to research. They will go over it in detail with you."

We finally reached a building complex that looked like individual houses all joined, they were all at different levels like a stadium.

"This is were you'll be staying. Unfortunately you'll have to share your apartment with one other person. This area was already full and the other housing buildings wouldn't have been able to accommodate all of you in one apartment."

She led us up some stairs past the first two long rows of apartments and then she turned to the left leading us into the third row. We finally stopped at the fifth apartment. She searched in her purse and extracted a bundle of keys. She was looking through them when the door opened and a girl walked out. Her head was down busy trying to balance a small stack of books in her arm and a plate of food in her other.

"And here I thought you were absent because you actually had something to do. Turns out you were just lazying around. I shouldn't even be surprised" Cecile sneered. The girl looked up and around absentmindedly her cheeks puffed with food and she quickly swallowed and removed an earbud from her ear.

"It was today?" she asked in a surprisingly low pitched and husky voice.

"Well if you'd bothered to check your phone you might have known."

"Right…" she drifted off thoughtfully then shook her head. "Well I assume you're done with the tour, I can just show them around the house." She reached for the bundle of keys in Cecile's hands and this one pulled them away from her.

"I don't like to leave things unfinished. I can do it myself." Her smile was like acid and it was easy to see that she was not fond of this girl. The dark haired girl however seemed unperturbed by Cecile's steely glare. She had large almond shaped green eyes that were so big they seemed oddly out of proportion with her small face. Their size and the gentle brown color of her skin made her eyes look as if they could glow in the dark.

"And let you into my house? No way, you might poison the air in it with just your presence." It was clearly an insult but the pleasant smile on her lips made it almost seem like she was teasing.

Zeke chuckled at what I guess he saw as light bantering. But there was a hate in Cecile's eyes that contradicted the assumption. Despite her glare, the other girl showed no signs of even noticing.

"I don't know why dad still relies on a mentally deficient parasite like you. But I suppose he can't just get rid of his daughter can he?"

The girl rolled her eyes as if this were an everyday argument and shifted her weight to her right leg. So this was the person Cecile had been complaining about to her dad and to Jack. This was her sister. I would have never guessed, they were so unlike each other, day and night, and that was only at first glance.

"Piss off will you? I've got to introduce myself to my new roommates and I'll be needing those keys." But Cecile made no sign of budging. "Hurry up, this mentally deficient parasite doesn't have the time or patience to deal with you for more than ten minutes."

Cecile's icy eyes narrowed and she tossed the keys to her aware that she wouldn't be able to catch them because of her full hands. The keys landed on her plate of yogurt.

"unfuckingbelievable." The girl muttered under her breath.

Cecile turned to look at us, and she handed me a small card with a number on it and her name.

"If you need any help getting around or need any information don't hesitate on calling me. Heaven knows I can be a better help than her." She motioned towards her sister and then turned and walked back the way we'd come.

"I'd be careful if I were you." The girl called to me. "That's the look she gets when she marks her prey." She laughed a little but I couldn't see what was so amusing, I only felt uncomfortable.

"Oh she targeted him ages ago. You should have seen the way she looked at him while he slept on the plane. I was surprised she didn't take a bite out of him then." Zeke laughed and stuck out his hand to shake hers.

Her eyes widened as if remembering something. "I'm sorry! I'm all badmouthing my sister and I haven't even introduced myself." She placed her ruined yogurt bowl atop her stack of books and reached to shake Zeke's hand. "I'm Etienne, the nicer sister, although potentially bitchy depending on the situation." With that warning she shook his hand but it was clear that she was speaking to all of us.

"I'm Zeke." He responded and then motioned to Shauna. "this is my wife, Shauna."

"Right! I remember looking over your file a couple days ago. I promise that soon you'll be walking, the people that work here are great at what they do." It seemed to me a bit irresponsible of her to make a promise like that when she wasn't the expert. At least I didn't think she was, she seemed too young. But then again the dauntless faction had been mostly run by young people. I myself had been an instructor at seventeen.

"Have they dealt with people like me before?"

"People with outrageous speed? No, not as far as I know, but it's rare to see any two powers that are the same. I could count on one hand the amount of times that's happened." She smiled at her then turned to look at the rest of us. "and you must be Christina."

"Yeah and don't mention anything about my problem, if I think about it then I begin to multiply."

"Understood." She nodded. "now it's the guys I can't remember, you are?"

"I'm Matthew." He quickly reached to shake her hand.

"oh right! Mohinder talked to me about you. Said you'd be assisting him on his research. Between you and I, he's pretty dazzled with you, excited to share his interest with someone."

"Aren't there more scientists around?"

"Well, he's definitely one of the most invested ones, I guess he kind saw some of himself in you."

He beamed at that, I imagine he must have grown to respect him through their correspondence.

Finally she turned to me with an easy smile and raised her dark eyebrows, silently asking for my name.

"I'm Four." My answer was automatic.

While I'd left everything behind, my nickname was something I couldn't quite leave in the past, it was symbolical in more ways than one, it was what my friends had always called me. Only Tris had called me by my name, aside from my Mother and Marcus. Four was more my name than Tobias.

She made a small expression of curiosity but didn't push or make comment. She only nodded and smiled as if her curiosity was of no matter.

"Well welcome, all of you. I hope that you guys enjoy your time here and that you get what you came here for. Whether that's control or just a breath of fresh air." My eyes snapped to her but she continued talking, oblivious to the fact that she'd hit bullseye, because that was exactly why I was here.

"Sorry we couldn't get you an apartment for just you guys. We are kinda booked all the way through. I daresay we've never had all the dormitories full. So I guess you'll be stuck with me. Don't worry though I'm hardly nosy, in fact I'm quite adept at being invisible."

That seemed unlikely to me, she seemed to me like the kind of girl that just attracted attention even when she didn't mean to.

"Is that your ability?" Matthew asked, eager to know more.

"Actually no." Etienne laughed, "But I have met someone that can become invisible, nice chap."

"What can you do?" Christina asked, equally interested.

Etienne pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment then held out her hand with the stack of books, the stack began to float inches above her hand.

"Oh damn." I heard Zeke mutter. Damn was about right, it was impressive.

"Telekineses," she called it, staring at her work appreciatively. "Well time to show you your new home for however long you have to stay." With the stack of books still floating she turned and opened the door of the apartment. She made the books float into the house and settle on a round table with a yellow tablecloth.

"Now sorry about your keys." She eyed the bunch of keys that were still immersed in her yogurt. "let me wash them for you guys."

I took a look around the place. It was bright and homely, more inviting than my apartment back in Chicago could hope to be. The kitchen was a decent size and was divided from the living room by a bar table. The cupboards were white with a pastel green detailing. All the walls were a cream color and the couches light blue. To the right of the living room was a small dining area a vase full of flowers I'd never seen sat in the middle of the table. There was a window there next to the door and bright sunlight entered the house. I'd never seen a more homely place and it felt odd. All the places I'd lived in had always been simplistic, void of any sort of decoration. Abnegation believed that to be selfless we had to abstain from any sort of self indulgence. This house in the Abnegation sector would have been highly offensive. And the Dauntless hardly bothered with this kind of stuff. But that was the beauty of those that had grown up without the faction system they had the freedom to express themselves as they wished. I imagined that if I was to walk into any of the other houses I'd see a completely different decoration, unique to the character of the people that lived there.

There were two hallways, one next to the kitchen and the other next to the dining area; I could see the doors that led to what I imagined were the bedrooms.

"It's a pretty simple place." She said when she'd finished washing the keys in the sink. I snorted making her turn to me and cock an eyebrow.

"I don't think you've seen simple." I explained.

"Yeah, you should see his apartment." Christina chuckled and Etienne grinned a little.

"Simple, at least by my standards, which I'm just realizing, might not be so simple at all, Anyways." she finished rinsing the keys and began to hand them out.

"Shauna and zeke your room is number one, so just down the right hallway. Christina and Matthew you guys have rooms 2 and 3 respectively. You'll be sharing the bathroom. And Four you are on the room across from me." she pointed to the hall on the left, and handed me a small brass key. "room four, ironically enough." she added. "I think your stuff should already be in your respective rooms and…" she made small clucking noises, thinking. " I think that's all I've got to say. You guys are probably jet lagged from your trip so I'll leave you to unpack. Uhm, if you have any questions I'm going to be here for the rest of the day, so just knock. Knock extra hard in case I fall asleep." She turned to walk towards the left hallway before she stopped and turned. " Oh and by the way if you guys prefer to cook instead of going to the dining hall feel free to take anything from the kitchen."

She turned and walked into the hallway making clicking noises as she went, I realized she was wearing a pair of tall heels that looked like their sole purpose in life was to kill. I shook my head, there were a lot of things about girls I could not understand, their need to torture themselves like this was one of them.

"She seems nice." Shauna finally commented. "Not peppy but just the right amount of kind and considerate if you ask me."

"Since when did you become a good judge of character?" I asked, already turning towards the hall where Etienne had just disappeared.

"Since I decided I was. And I am. Problem?"

I shrugged and smirked a little, as I headed to the room with the small number four on it. 'ironically enough' I thought, mimicking Etienne's own words. It was a simple but spacious room. A spacious closet with a built in dresser where my bags had already been left, a twin bed and a desk and chair. Completely unremarkable had it not been for the view outside the two windows adjacent to each other from the bed. While the front of the building complex had a green and trimmed lawn, the back gave way to a wide of expanse of wild grass and flowers and just beyond it a wall of trees marked the beginning of the forest. I moved closer into the room towards the bed to get a closer look at what stood before me and a wave of emotion hit me as I remembered that I'd once thought about settling somewhere far from Chicago, somewhere better and I realized that this might have been the place.

I sit on the bed with it's white comforter and take a deep breath. The purpose of my coming on this trip was to relax and let my mind rest, to leave all the bad behind if only for a couple of weeks. But how could I leave everything behind when I carried her everywhere I went, I could no sooner leave my head.

There was a knock on the door that pulled me out of the waters I was drowning in. Etienne stood slightly leaning against the frame with a tentative smile, I didn't say anything just looked at her strange catlike eyes.

"Uhm." She cleared her throat loudly, "I'm just going around asking everyone if you guys are allergic to dogs."

I shook my head and she nodded once and smiled a little again though it seemed like half a frown. She walked away in her ridiculously tall shoes. I chuckled a little, there were some things that could not be changed with time, my ability to intimidate was apparently one of those.

The rest of the day had been quiet, we were all too tired by the long trip to go out. I fell asleep that first night with the windows open, marveling at how many stars there were in the sky, I'd never seen so many.

* * *

 

I woke before everyone else the next morning, not surprisingly. I walked into the bathroom still rubbing the sleep from my eyes and showered quickly so that I would not bother the girl if she woke up. Coming out of the shower I heard the front door opening and the sound of footsteps followed by a long whine.

"Shh!"

I peeked into the living room and did a double take.

"What is  _that_?" I blurted before I could stop myself, she jumped in surprise.

Etienne turned to me from where she was crouching and looked back to the animal innocently.

"My Dog?" she said as though she wasn't sure.

"That's a dog?"

" _That_  is Dexter."

The 'dog' began to growl in what sounded indeed like a dog, and I was suddenly worried he would pounce not just on me but on Etienne who seemed to have lost about a foot since I saw her yesterday. It looked more like a wolf than anything else, and it was enormous.

"No Dexter." she admonished him. "no growling."

"Should you really be so close to it." I asked, growing more uncomfortable by the minute at her proximity to her 'dog' it looked like one good pull from his leash and it would drag her along.

"He's harmless!" she laughed carelessly. The dog growled at me again, cutting off her laugh. "Dexter no!" she stomped a foot on the ground and the dog laid on the floor, not growling but never taking his blue eyes off me.

"That's why I asked if anyone is allergic to dogs."

"Are you sure it's a dog?"

"He's a husky, they kinda do look like wolves, and the majority are a bit smaller. But he's completely safe. He just growled because he doesn't know you. You can pet him if you want."

"I'll pass." I mutter.

"Scared?" She challenged.

"More like cautious, I'm not sure I trust your judgement and I wouldn't like to lose a hand."

She snickered at me apparently forgetting her apparent awkwardness of yesterday. A gasp of surprise tore my eyes away from the dog.

"Is that a dog?" Christina asked, her hair pointing in all directions.

"Yep, this is Dexter." The dog got up and walked slowly towards Christina who cooed at him excitedly. It sniffed her outstretched hand and then began to lick it. I couldn't help but remember the dog from my aptitude test. Encouraged, Christina buried her hand into the dogs black and white fur.

"Hi Dexter," she cooed, and I chuckled, I'd never heard Christina like this.

"Told you he was harmless." Etienne said as she released Dexter from his leash.

"You're scared Four?" Christina looked at me in surprise. "But look at how cute he is!"

Dexter stopped licking and sniffing her and began to walk around the house sniffing the carpet, taking in the new scents in the house. Finally he came to stop in front of me and began sniffing my feet and then my legs. I stood still, staring warily as I waited for the him to decide wether I was friend or foe. He looked up at me and stared with equally wary brilliant blue eyes and a moment later he inched forward to lick my hand.

"Not scared" I answered when I saw his tail begin to wag, " just cautious. What are you doing up so early anyway?"

"I don't know, maybe the time change." Christina shrugged and turned to look at Etienne. "you look like you've been up for a while."

She was right. Etienne was all dressed, and I realized why she looked so much shorter now. She'd ditched her heels for tennis shoes. I hadn't realized how short she was, she would barely reach my shoulder.

"I usually wake up at six, sometimes I'll go run like today."

"But it's Sunday." Christina didn't bother to hide her apparent disgust of the idea of waking up so early, always a candor through and through.

Etienne shrugged, "Sometimes I do sleep in." she turned to the kitchen and began taking things out of the fridge. "you guys hungry?"

I watch her and Christina fall into comfortable conversation as she asks her questions about life outside of Chicago; the life of a person that grew up in this world. Then I turn and go back into the room to finish dressing all the time idly wondering if I'll find some sort of routine in this place for the time that we will be staying.

I stay in there until I start hearing the voice of all my other friends as they wake up and head into the living room, guided by the smell of food. There are two knocks on my door and Christina pokes her head in calling me for breakfast.

"Stop being such a hermit, she's actually pretty cool."

She leaves before I can answer and I follow.

They're all gathered around the table where the food had already been set. "Christina helped Etienne with the knew she could cook!" Zeke helped himself to the scrambled egg while I walked into the kitchen where I found that coffee had already been set.

"Mugs are in the cabinet to your right." I heard Etienne's low pitched voice but didn't see her.

"Thanks," I responded when I found them and heard her reply. Then she appeared from underneath the bar table with a bag of dog food. Her black hair was down and fell to the middle of her back in thick half curled tresses and she wore a pair of large, squared, thick rimmed glasses. She glanced at me and grinned, her eyes closing in the process, making her face scrunch.

I wasn't sure how to respond, but a knock on the door distracted her, she went to open it.

"Excuse me sir, I am trying to have breakfast with my new roommates would you please butt out?" all the chattering on the table stopped as they heard her overly polite tone and we listened for a response.

"I was in the neighborhood and an amazing scent brought me all the way over here."

"Must have been the scent of my early morning run." she leaned against the door frame and I saw the face of a man no older than 20 smiling cheekily down at Etienne. Dexter began to bark excitedly and rushed to the door where he pushed Etienne to the side and raised himself on its hind legs and rested his front paws on the brown haired guy.

"See? Dex wants me to come in."

"Fine," she turned away from the door and let him in. "Hey everyone this is Connor, he lives on this complex too."

Once we were done with the introductions he set out to collect his food, he moved about the house with ease, clearly used to being in here.

"It's about time she got people living with her." He commented between bites. "I keep telling her to move in with me." I wasn't surprised, they seemed like a likely couple.

"And I keep telling you your roommates are some of the few people I dislike." She called from her place on the couch where she sipped her coffee.

"Wait, so you live here permanently?" Shauna pointed at him with her fork, "I thought that people only stayed here until they controlled their abilities?"

"Yeah but I work here. I'm staff along with that one over there." He pointed over his shoulder towards Etienne.

"Your dad has you working and living here?" Matthew asked, suddenly breaking his silence.

Etienne chewed slowly and then spoke. "Yes and no. He had me grow up here, and then I just chose to stay here instead of moving in with him like Cecile. And I decided that since I was here I might as well work and earn some of my own money. Not to mention I love this place more than I could ever like being in his house."

"Why didn't you guys grow up with him?" Christina asked the question I had but would not ask because it seemed too personal. Etienne didn't seem to think so because she shrugged nonchalantly and swallowed her food before speaking. "Cecile was raised in his house and he sent me here to be raised alongside some other kids. Her mother didn't want me in the same house as her and her kid so dad thought it more simple to send me away."

I searched for anything that could indicate that this bothered her but she seemed perfectly content with the way things had turned out for her. It didn't even seem to bother her to talk about it. I wondered if she really felt that way or if she put up a front. What kid could possibly grow up under that kind of neglect and not be bothered about it? I'd known a different and more direct way of abuse from my own father and to this day I sometimes wonder why he couldn't completely love me. It must bother her on some level, but I understood how important it must be for her to appear unaffected. Hadn't I lived afraid of anyone finding out who I was for fear that people would look at me with pity? Just with hearing the way she talked about her home life made it clear that she was not someone that enjoyed being looked at with pity.

"Sounds like a lovely lady, Cecile's mom." Zeke joked and Etienne smiled with a small grimace.

"Well, if you're not her daughter then I guess it makes sense that she wouldn't want to have a constant reminder of her husbands infidelity living in the house."

Sometimes I really wished that Christina's all too honest and outspoken mouth came with a zipper.

"Christina" Matthew hissed and elbowed her. Etienne frowned a little and tilted her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Christina apologized quickly. "Don't listen to me, I'm a bit of a big mouth."

"She is," Zeke and Shauna said in unison.

"Oh it's fine." Connor said with a dismissive hand, "Etienne, sweetheart, if you're going to tell a story tell it correctly and expose that step mother of yours for the witch she really is. Do it or I will."

"Right." Etienne snickered, unperturbed by the comment. "My dad didn't have an affair with my mom. He had an affair with Cecile's mother."

"Also known as the sister of Etienne's mom." Connor filled in and everyone turned to look at him questioningly. "Well it's no secret." He said shrugging off his indiscretion.

"Wait Cecile's mom is your aunt?" Shauna turned her attention back to Etienne who remained on the couch as if this was nothing scandalous. Was this kind of thing normal in this society?

"Shocking huh? Yeah, she became pregnant with Cecile and not too long after that my mom got pregnant with me. She was married to my dad."

"How old are you exactly?" I asked, speaking for the first time since this conversation started.

"Just turned nineteen and Cecile is about to turn twenty." She took a sip of her coffee, "Unfortunately there were complications with my mom's pregnancy and she died after giving birth. So dad married her sister and I got the…Well some would call it the short end of the stick. But really it could have been worse, I could have been forced to live with them."

"So you think your dad actually did you a favor?" Matthew asked.

"oh absolutely. I love living here, the people are way nicer and funner." she got up with her empty plate. I moved from the place in the kitchen were I stood to let her pass.

"So now that you guys know my life's story tell me about you guys." She began washing her plate.

"Yeah, what was it like living under factions?"

My stomach twisted uncomfortably, did everyone know about this?

"Seriously?" Etienne cut us off before anyone can say anything. "God dammit Connor I told you not to mention that. How the hell would you like it if someone asked you what it was like finding out that your whole life was some little experiment to a group of assholes?"

"Okay, okay!" he said quickly, raising his arms defensively. "It slipped out."

Well, he and Christina had something in common.

"Tell me how is it that everyone here seems to be very well informed about something that no one is supposed to know about." Says Matthew, looking carefully between the two.

"As it happens my dad is quite involved in politics and government and all that." She shrugged, slowly drying her hands. "There's access to the information."

"Why would your dad even be interested in that kind of information? Given his treatment of you I doubt he was interested in our welfare" I point out a bit too sardonically

"I doubt he was." She nods, not bothered in the least by my comment. "Dad is far from being a good man but, if you haven't noticed, he has a certain fascination with people like you two," she points to Shauna and Christina. "and people like me, Connor, and Cecile."

"What does that have to do with the purification of genes?" Matthew asks.

She sighed and looked around as if checking no one was around to listen. It reminded me of the way I'd made a habit of looking for cameras when the factions were still in function. Was that the case here?

"I mean that they told you that those experiments were so that they could hopefully generate enough genetically pure people, but I really hope you don't believe that kind of bullshit."

"That the genetically damaged are the ones to blame for this world's misfortunes?" His expression is wry, "Hardly, the world's been this way since it began. But then what do you think was the purpose of the experiments?"

"It's not what  _I_  think, it is what it is. Don't get me wrong, I'd say that more than half of those that started this whole thing believed that. But they found other kinds of discoveries along the way, they found people like us among those experiments. And now they want more information on how people like them," She pointed to Christina and Shauna, "and I, come about. People with special abilities have been around since the beginning of the world too, though always in small numbers. Where else do you think all those stories about the gods and mythical beings came from? But it seems they nearly became extinct for some time. It's been in this past century that they seem to be rising in numbers again, and that worries the world leaders…I suppose they see us as a threat that must be eradicated. The problem is they don't have much information about why some people are born with this. Some suspect that the experiments are meant to also shed some light to those questions."

"That can't be it." I interjected. "Because there was never anyone amongst us that could do these kinds of things."

"Of course not." She shrugged, "The numbers may be growing but they're still very small. Not all of the experiments have been successful in targeting people with abilities, and those that don't work are shut down. That's part of why your city was also shut down. Yet if they'd continued it for at least four more years then they'd have finally gotten what they were looking for." I followed her eyes to Shauna and Christina. "But some have been successful and those are still in operation…Talk to Mohinder about it, he's my source of info, that and I'm real good at eavesdropping on my dad."

"I thought you weren't nosy." Christina accused. Etienne grinned impishly and shrugged a little.

"My dad is kind of a whole other story."

Matthew chuckled, "I was wondering if you were also working on research with Mohinder."

"Me? Please, I'm only nineteen. Plus I'm not much of a scientist or anything of the sort."

"Doesn't it bother you?" Christina demanded. "That these people are still playing with the lives of human beings as though they were rats? How come no one does anything about this?"

"Of course it bothers us. Unfortunately there is too much fear on both sides to do anything. They are doing this because they're afraid of what we could become if they let our numbers grow. And those like us are afraid of what they can do if they find out about us. It's ironic really, and the government is more powerful than you realize. We can't directly walk in there and shut down the experiments, like you guys did. But we can fight in a more silent matter. Which is exactly why this place exists; to know more about what makes us this way and to help those in need learn how to control themselves. That way we can ensure they won't be captured and killed and that our numbers will grow. It's a slow manner of rebelling, I know, but sometimes that's for the best." She bit her lip and I noticed the small gap between her two front teeth. "What they did to you all was terrible and even more terrible must have been finding out. I can't begin to imagine what that must have been like, to have to realize that the world is so much bigger and more terrible than you could have imagined."

"It was definitely an adjustment." Shauna said. "And we lost a lot of people we loved because of that."

Etienne nodded and frowned

"Loss is something I know a little of. I want you guys to be comfortable living here so if I ever say anything that's ignorant about where you come from please let me know. I'm aware that people like Connor and I come from somewhat more privileged backgrounds than you, I'm not bragging but there's no point in denying it; therefore there's things that simply seem obvious to me because it's the world I've grown up in but I'm aware that that's not the same for you. I'd hate to make insensitive comments."

"Don't worry we're used to that." Zeke pointed not too discretely towards Matthew who raised his hands in acceptance.

"Guilty."

She was sensible enough, more so that other people I'd met, I just hoped that everyone else here was not intrusive.


End file.
